Order Up
by ocfanatic2013
Summary: AU: Years after Santana disappeared from her life, Rachel manages to track her down. Will she be able to reclaim her role in the Latina's life or will she take on a more important one?
1. Chapter 1

"Order up!" Santana grabbed the plates and walked over to one of her favorite regulars.

"Here's your breakfast Mickey." she said, smiling as she set the plates down.

"Thanks San. Can I get some more coffee?" Out of the corner of her eye, Santana saw someone sit down in her section.

"Yeah, just give me a minute to take her order." Mickey nodded and Santana moved to the booth next to his. "Hi. Can I get you some coffee?" The woman looked up and smiled. "Berry."

"Hi Santana. It's been a long time." Santana shrugged. "Coffee would be great, thank you."

"You don't want anything to eat?" Rachel bit her lip, eyeing the menu. "I'll get you a cinnamon roll. It's on me." Santana said, knowing the girl's guilty pleasure. Rachel smiled softly as Santana stepped away from the table.

"San, can I get some more bacon?"

"You don't need it, Mickey." Santana said, walking past the booth to get a mug and a pot of coffee. After stopping to refill Mickey's cup, she walked back to Rachel's table and filled the empty mug before sitting down across from the brunette. "How'd you find me?"

"That's actually a very interesting story. After going through multiple people including all of our mutual friends as well as your parents, I figured out that the last person to have contact with you that I know personally was Matt Rutherford. I tracked him down and talked to him." Santana raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?" Rachel nodded. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"That as far as he knew, you work here. I didn't want to bother you at work, but he didn't know your address." Santana nodded. "He also said he hadn't seen you or the twins you share in over a year."

"Did he happen to mention that that was his choice?" Santana snapped. Rachel bit her lip. "I might not be able to stand him, but I wouldn't keep my babies away their father. He left us. I guess he's no a complete ass, because he sends child support every month. I guess it's the least he can do seeing as he makes at least five times what I do." Rachel nodded but before she could respond, a bell went off.

"Order up!"

"That'll be your cinnamon roll. One sec." Santana slid out of the booth and walked over to the counter, picking up the plate and walking back to the table. "There you go. I have to check on my other tables."

"Oh, of course. Take your time." Santana nodded and was about to turn away when she heard her name.

"Yeah Mickey?" The friendly man smiled as he slid out of his booth. Pulling out his wallet, he set an extra bill on the table in addition to what he owed for his meal. "Mickey..."

"It's my contribution. Tell the twins I said hi." Santana smiled slightly, wiping a tear discreetly as he pulled her into a hug. "You're a good mom." he whispered.

"God, why couldn't you be their dad?" Santana joked, letting out a soft laugh.

"Because then they'd be ugly. I'll see you tomorrow." Santana smiled as he walked out of the diner. Turning around, she saw Rachel smiling.

"The twins want to go to a Yankees game for their birthday. I'm trying to save up for the tickets and to buy them each a souvenir." she explained. Rachel immediately reached for her purse. "Rachel, don't. Please. Keep your money, okay? I didn't tell you that to make you feel like you needed to help pay for the tickets." Rachel sighed. "Enjoy your pastry. I'll come check on you in a few minutes."

"Okay." Rachel whispered as she began eating.

* * *

When Santana returned to the brunette's booth, she saw a note under the coffee mug as well as way too much money.

_San,_

_I know you said that this was on you, but I wanted to pay. It was so great to see you, I'm sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye. I'll come by again tomorrow, same time. I hope you're working. Hopefully, if it's not too busy, we can have a chance to properly catch up._

_See you soon,_

_Rachel_

_P.S. Hopefully this can help you toward your goal of taking your children to a Yankees game._

Santana sighed as she picked up the two twenty dollar bills. Biting her lip, she slipped the tip and the note into her pocket before gathering up the payment and taking it to the cash register. Looking back at the booth, she decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if Rachel came back to the diner the next day.

* * *

For the remainder of the day, Rachel's main focus was on the fact that she'd finally tracked down Santana. She'd been trying to find the Latina for almost three months and she'd almost given up. When Kurt figured out what she was doing, he'd immediately began helping, but she'd convinced him to stay home while she went to the diner alone. She didn't want to overwhelm Santana. Before she could even begin thinking about their conversation, her phone buzzed.

**Did you talk to her? - Kurt**

**Yes, I did. I'll call you when I get home tonight, okay? - Rachel**

**Sounds good. - Kurt**

Rachel sighed and put her phone back in her purse. It was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

Santana sighed as she closed the door to the bedroom in the apartment she shared with her kids. After picking the twins up from her neighbor, she'd had Miguel and Lilly help her with dinner. Now she'd finally gotten the kids asleep and was about to collapse on their small couch until she saw how messy her living room was.

"The joys of having twin four year olds." she whispered, leaning down to pick up some toys.

Tomorrow, she'd get to do it all over again.

She loved her kids. She would never give them up for anything, even though they were technically the product of a drunken hookup and she'd probably picked the worst guy to get pregnant by. Sometimes, though, she found herself wondering what would have happened if she'd stayed in the loft with Kurt and Rachel.

Each time she thought about it, the ending was different.

* * *

"She was... I don't know. I didn't really get a chance to talk to her, Kurt." Rachel said as she walked into her apartment later that night.

_"Santana Lopez with kids... I can't believe Matt's the father."_

"From what I gathered, he's not much of one. He hasn't seen his kids in a year." Rachel explained.

_"Why not?"_

"I didn't ask, but Santana told me that he's the one who left. She didn't elaborate and I didn't ask her to. It's none of our business." Rachel said.

_"Can I come with you tomorrow?"_

"Kurt, no. We can't ambush her. She's probably already freaked out by the fact that I tracked her down in the first place." Kurt sighed. "I don't even know if she's working tomorrow anyway."

_"Okay. I just... I miss her. We were best friends for our entire lives and then all of a sudden she wasn't there. One day she was and then she was gone. Nobody knew where she went."_

"Turns out she was in the city this whole time." Rachel whispered, looking at a picture of the three of them from the loft.

_"Do you still think about it? About what happened right before she left?"_

"All the time. Part of me thinks it's my fault. Maybe if I hadn't... She wouldn't have left." Rachel said, looking down.

_"I don't think it's your fault, Rach. I think she was scared."_

"That... That doesn't help, Kurt." Rachel said, sighing.

_"I know. Do you still..."_ Rachel bit her lip.

"I think I do." she whispered, staring at Santana's picture.

* * *

**A/N: This story is AU with a little bit of canon mixed into it. In this story, Santana never came out in high school, but Rachel did. Really, the only canon thing in this will be that Kurt, Rachel, and Santana did move to New York after high school and they did live in the loft together. Other than that, this story is completely AU. **


	2. Chapter 2

Santana raised an eyebrow as she walked into the diner to see Rachel sitting in the same booth as the day before. The brunette was looking at the menu with a look that Santana recognized from when they would study together in high school. Sighing, she walked behind the counter, putting her bag down.

"Lopez, the brunette over there is waiting for you." Santana looked over and saw the waitress that covered her section during the nigh shift. "See you tonight."

"Later Cindy." Santana said, grabbing her pad and pen before walking over to Rachel. "Hey." The brunette looked up with a bright smile.

"Morning!" Santana smiled slightly. "How was your night?"

"I made hot dogs and mac and cheese for the twins and then picked up the mess they made when they went to bed." Rachel nodded. "But I did get to spend the night with my babies, so it was great."

"You really love them, huh?" Santana smiled softly.

"They're my world. How was your night?" she asked, pouring the brunette some coffee.

"It was good. I made myself some dinner and then spent the night catching up on some shows after talking to Kurt." Santana looked over quickly.

"You still talk to Kurt?" Rachel nodded. "How is he?"

"He's good. He misses you."

"You told him you found me?" Rachel sighed and gestured for Santana to sit across from her. Seeing that the rest of her section was empty, Santana sat down.

"He's actually the one who confirmed that you were working here. We decided that I should come alone at first. But he's been saying he misses you for years." Santana sighed, looking up when she heard the door to the diner open and smiling when she saw who walked in.

"Mickey's here. I have to go put his order in. Do you know what you want?"

"I'd love some pancakes." Santana smiled and nodded, walking off.

* * *

"Are you any closer to getting the baseball tickets?" Santana smiled slightly as she set Rachel's plate down.

"Yeah, yesterday was a great day for tips. I almost have enough for the tickets, I should be able to go get them in a couple of days and then I'll save up for souvenirs and food at the game. They won't be the best seats in the world, but they'll be in the stadium."

"That's great, San." Santana nodded. "I hope you guys have a great time."

"We used to have fun at Yankees games." Rachel laughed softly and nodded. "Do... Would you want to come with us? I'm sure it'll be crazy trying to keep track of two little kids at a baseball game, I could use an extra set of eyes."

"You want me to come?" Rachel asked. Santana shrugged with a smile. "I'd love to, San, but only if you let me pay for my ticket." Santana held back a sigh of relief, she hasn't been thinking about paying for a fourth ticket until after she'd extended the invitation.

"Okay." Rachel grinned. "I'll get you the specific details later."

"I can't wait." Santana smiled softly. "You should probably go greet that new customer. He looks like he wants your attention." Santana turned her head and resisted rolling her eyes until she turned back around.

"He's such an ass. I hate when he sits in my section." she whispered, causing Rachel to raise an eyebrow. "He hits on all the waitresses and he's so crude. I swear if he touches my ass one more time, I'm gonna go all Lima Heights on his ass."

"Santana, you should tell your boss. Get him thrown out." Santana shrugged.

"He only comes in once every few weeks, so it's not that big of a hassle. It's more annoying than anything else." Rachel frowned. "I'm good, Rach. Thanks though."

"Okay." Rachel whispered. Santana smiled softly before turning around and walking over to the table.

* * *

The entire time the man was there, Rachel had been watching him carefully. She didn't like the way he spoke to or looked at Santana and she got the feeling Mickey didn't either.

"I'm not going to sleep with you, Joe." Santana said as she set his plate down, turning around only to growl as he slapped her ass. Before she could whip around, she felt someone gently pushing her away and looked over to see Mickey pulling him out of the booth. Santana let out a slight scream when Mickey threw him to the ground.

"Stop touching her." Mickey said, glaring at Joe. Santana had never seen this side of him, she only knew him as a giant teddy bear. "Get the hell out of here and if I see you bothering her again, you'll be wishing I hadn't let you go this time." Rachel watched with wide eyes as Joe ran out of the diner. Slipping out of her booth, she walked over to her friend.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Mickey, what was that? I didn't know you knew how to get angry." Mickey chuckled.

"I'm protective of my loved ones." Santana smiled softly, trying not to cry. Over the past year she'd worked at the diner, she'd come to love Mickey as well. The minute she saw how he bonded with the twins, she knew he would be a great friend to her. "He's not going to bother you anymore, San, I promise."

"Thank you." Mickey hugged the waitress before pulling out enough money for his meal and Joe's.

"I'm just gonna take his bacon to go." Santana laughed, letting the man swipe the extra bacon without her usual 'you don't need it' comment. As he walked out of the diner, Rachel looked up at Santana.

"Now will you talk to your boss about him?" Santana rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, Berry." she said, smiling at the brunette with a chuckle.

* * *

**A/N: I've already written part of chapter three, most of chapter four (I knew exactly what I wanted to happen in that chapter and how I wanted it written whereas in chapter three I'm trying to find the best way for my idea to flow into words), the beginning of what'll probably be chapter six or possibly chapter seven, and I've got an idea down for the epilogue, though I'm not sure how many chapters this will end up being. I'd originally imagined it being six chapters and then an epilogue but my original idea expanded so now I have no clue. It most likely won't be more than fifteen though.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: To the anonymous reviewer 'Guest' that was upset that I had Mickey "rescue" Santana, that definitely was not the case at all. He wasn't "rescuing" her because she couldn't defend herself, he was "rescuing" her because he cares about her. The friendship between Mickey and Santana is going to be an important one throughout the story and that interaction was to show how much he cares about her. That friendship will also lead to some one on one interaction between Rachel and Mickey. That part was not meant to make Santana seem weak, but to portray the significance of their friendship. It also resurfaces in a later chapter during a conversation between the two in which Santana makes sure to point out that she can defend herself.**

**Just wanted to clarify that. Enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

Santana frowned as she looked the clock. Rachel hadn't shown up all day. The brunette hadn't exactly said she'd come to the diner, but every day for two weeks, Rachel had come in for breakfast at the same time. That day, however, it was two in the afternoon there was no sign of her.

The past two weeks had been filled with the two friends reconnecting. Once Santana - under Rachel's insistence - had informed her boss of the incident with Joe, the man had been officially banned from the diner. Rachel felt better knowing that he couldn't bother Santana anymore and with that distraction out of her way, she could focus on getting to know Santana again.

Santana had thought they were getting close again, but maybe she'd misread the signs, maybe Rachel decided she didn't want to be friends with a single parent, maybe-

Santana's thoughts cut off when she heard the door to the diner open. Looking up, she smirked as she saw Rachel walking into the diner, hiding everything she'd just been thinking or feeling. "You're late." she said, all of her fears immediately leaving.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"The Rachel Berry I know is never late for anything." Santana teased. Rachel glared. "Seriously though, Rach, you had me worried sick. I'm a mom now, I automatically get worried when someone is even three minutes late. I thought something might have happened to you." Rachel looked up, her expression softening.

"I'm sorry. I should have called the diner to let you know that I was okay." Santana held back a laugh. "You're teasing me."

"Partially. I've been slightly worried for most of the morning, but I also know that you're prepared for just about anything that could possibly happen to you." Santana pointed out. Rachel nodded.

"True." Santana smiled slightly.

"You do know you don't have to come here every day, right?" Rachel laughed.

"Of course I do, but then I wouldn't get to see you." Santana blushed, looking down.

"So why are you so late today?" she asked.

"I overslept and I've had meetings all day. It's been a hectic morning." Santana chuckled. "But now I get a chance to try your lunch menu!" Santana handed one to the brunette as she sat down.

"Drink?" she asked.

"Just a water." Santana nodded and got the drink before returning. "Do you get a lunch break? We could talk without you having to check on other tables." Rachel suggested, smiling.

"I get a break in about thirty minutes, but the lunch rush has already hit. It's calmed down significantly in the last hour." Rachel smiled softly as Santana sat down across from her. "You know, for the last two weeks, all we've talked about is myself and my kids. We haven't talked about you. What have you been up to?"

"Just work. Keeps me pretty busy." Santana nodded. They'd talked about Rachel's job, as far as what she did - Santana had been pretty impressed when she'd found out Rachel was on the fast track to becoming a Vice President of a major corporation - but that was about it.

"I bet." Rachel chuckled. "How're your dads?"

"They're good. They're divorced, but they're good." Santana's eyes widened.

"What?" Rachel nodded. "Wow. I... Never thought they'd break up."

"Neither did I." Rachel said softly, looking down.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. It's been a couple of years since it happened." Santana nodded. "How are your parents? I didn't really get a chance to talk to them when I spoke to them a few weeks ago."

"They're good. My mom said to tell you that she's sorry for lying to you, by the way." Rachel raised an eyebrow. "I didn't want anyone from Lima knowing where I live. I put Lima behind me. I guess she figured that meant my best friends too. Don't worry, I told her that if you or Kurt call, she can say whatever she wants to you guys, but not anyone else." Rachel chuckled.

"Speaking of Kurt, he wants to know when he gets to see you."

"Uh..." Santana trailed off as something behind Rachel caught her eye."What the hell?" she whispered, slipping out of the booth. Rachel turned around and saw Matt Rutherford raising an eyebrow at Santana as she walked over. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm bringing you this month's child support." Santana scoffed.

"Every other payment has been mailed to my PO box by your secretary. Why are you bringing it to me now?" Matt shrugged.

"After Rachel came to talk to me, I started thinking about how I handled things. Leaving you shouldn't have meant leaving the twins." Santana rolled her eyes. "I want to see them more.

"What?" Santana hissed. Matt nodded. "You don't even love them. The only reason you even married me and stuck around in the first place is because your mom found out and insisted we marry instead of having a child out of wedlock."

"They're my kids too, San." Santana sighed.

"You hurt them, Matt! They didn't know where you were, you were just gone. You didn't even say goodbye to them!" Matt sighed. "Just give me a few days. Okay?"

"Fair enough." Matt said, walking out of the diner. Santana sighed and walked back to Rachel's table.

"Are you okay?" Santana glared at Rachel.

"Lilly and Miguel have finally gotten to the point where they don't ask if he's coming home. They've finally stopped crying themselves to sleep over it. Now, thanks to you and your meddling, my kids could be put in a position where they could have to go through that all over again. And I have to be the one to either put them in that position or be the one they hate when they're older and find out I didn't let them see their father after he asked to see them." Rachel looked down.

"I didn't mean to meddle, Santana, I wanted to find you. I never meant for this to happen." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Stay out of my life, Rachel." she hissed, turning. Rachel stared at the waitress as she went to take her break. Sighing, the brunette stood up and walked out of the diner, catching Santana's eye as she stepped outside. Staring for a moment, Rachel looked down and walked away.

* * *

**A/N: The reason these chapters are coming out so fast is (a) I've had a lot of inspiration and have been able to write multiple chapters ahead, which is something I've never been able to do when writing a multi-chapter fic before, and (b) I'm trying to get as much of this out as possible before the semester really gets going and homework, exams, and projects begin piling up.**

**I'm really excited about this story and I can't wait for you all to read everything that I've come up with. This is the first multi-chapter fic I've written in a long time, so I hope you guys are enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it!**

**Chapter 4 should be up within the next couple of days!**


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm just so mad at her." Santana whispered. Mickey nodded. This was the first time they'd spent time together outside of the diner that didn't include Mickey seeing the twins. Santana had called him and he immediately knew she was angry. He offered to meet her in the park so she could talk.

"Santana, I'm sure she didn't mean for this to happen."

"She shouldn't have come looking for me in the first place." Santana snapped. Mickey sighed.

"You said that the two of you were best friends."

"There were three of us. Me, Rachel, and this guy Kurt. We were inseparable. We even moved to New York and lived together for two years until I moved out." Santana said. Mickey raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe she missed her friend." Santana looked down. "Look, San, I don't want you to get hurt, but... Do you want Rachel in the process of trying to protect yourself?"

"Of course not. Damn it, Mickey, now I'm not angry anymore." Mickey chuckled. "Oh, by the way, I appreciate you getting Joe off my back, but you know I can take care of myself, right?"

"Yeah, I know. That wasn't just for you, though. He pisses me off whenever he comes in the diner. He's rude to everyone, not just the waitresses." Santana nodded. "Trust me, I've seen you go 'all Lima Heights' before. I know you don't need anyone to take care of your problems for you."

"Yeah... Thanks for this, Mickey. You're a great friend."

"Yeah, I know." Santana smiled as he pulled her into a hug.

* * *

_"She hates me."_ Kurt rolled his eyes as he walked into his apartment.

"No, she doesn't."

_"Yes, she does, Kurt! She hates me!"_ Kurt sighed.

"What exactly happened?"

_"I told you! We were talking, Matt came into the diner and told her that he wanted back in the twins' lives, and she told me to stay out of hers. He said my call made him realize his mistake. If I hadn't called, he wouldn't have shown up!"_ Kurt closed his eyes.

"Rach, there's no way you could have known that would happen." he pointed out.

_"Can I come over?"_

"Rach, I have a work function tonight, but I can come over tomorrow after work. Is that okay?" Kurt asked.

_"Okay."_ Kurt smiled.

"She doesn't hate you, okay? It'll be fine." Rachel sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

"Santana, the guy over there specifically asked for you." Santana raised an eyebrow and looked over only to find Kurt sitting in Rachel's booth.

"I was wondering when you'd show up here." she said, smiling slightly as he stood up and hugged her.

"You look good." he said. Santana laughed.

"So do you, Hummel. How've you been?" Kurt chuckled.

"Good. I'm good. Yourself?" Santana scoffed.

"We both know you know the answer to that." Kurt smiled. "Rachel sits in this booth every day. She didn't come this morning, though." Santana said, biting her lip. Kurt narrowed his eyes, trying to read the reaction, before replying.

"She thinks you hate her."

"I did for about an hour." Santana admitted. Kurt raised an eyebrow. "It's not her fault though."

"You gonna tell her that?" Santana nodded.

"I was gonna go by her office, but then I realized I have no idea where she works." Kurt smiled.

"I'll tell you after you talk to me." Santana laughed. "I can't believe you're mom."

"You want to see a picture?" Kurt nodded eagerly and Santana pulled out her phone, sliding it toward him.

"They're adorable, San." Santana smiled softly. "She looks just like you."

"She's got Matt's personality though. She's a lot more calm like he is. Miguel... Miguel's me. I'm going to feel bad for his teachers when he starts kindergarten next fall." Kurt laughed. "Tomorrow's their birthday. I can't believe my babies are going to be five."

"Birthday?" Santana nodded.

"Yeah, we're having a special family dinner. I'm ordering in, we don't do that a lot anymore. It's not much, but... Hopefully when they're older, I'll be able to do more on their birthday." Kurt smiled.

"You have to let me come. I give great presents."

"I remember." Kurt grinned. "Okay, sure. I was gonna see if Rach wanted to come, but you can come even if she doesn't. The twins will love it, they love being the center of attention."

"And you're sure Rachel didn't give birth to them?" Kurt teased. Santana laughed loudly.

"It'll probably just be pizza, cake, and a movie or two."

"That sounds great." Santana smiled and grabbed his phone, putting her new phone number in it before calling her phone from his.

"I'll text you my address and the time." Kurt nodded.

"Sounds good." Santana bit her lip.

"I have to admit, it's good seeing you and Rach."

"It's good seeing you too." Santana smiled. "Oh, right. Here is where Rachel works." Santana accepted the napkin and looked at the writing on it.

"I'll go talk to her tomorrow. Don't tell her though, I want to surprise her." Kurt nodded and Santana slipped the napkin her pocket before raising an eyebrow at the man. "So are you gonna order anything or just take up one of my tables?" she teased, smirking.

"Well, I was, but I don't think I like the service here." Kurt replied, grinning.

"Oh fuck off Hummel." Kurt laughed. "I have to go check on my tables, but let me know when you're ready to order."

"Sounds good." Santana smiled as she slipped out of the booth.

* * *

"I really screwed up, Kurt. What if he tries to take the twins from her?" Rachel asked. Kurt sighed. He wanted to tell her what he knew, but he didn't want to betray Santana's trust.

"You didn't know, Rach." he said, sitting next to his best friend.

"What if she hates me? I just got her back in my life, I couldn't... I don't want her to leave again." Rachel whispered.

"She won't."

"She did before." Rachel said, looking down. Kurt bit his lip. "I can't lose her again. It hurt too much the first time."

"You're still in love with her, aren't you?" Kurt whispered. Rachel nodded. "Rachel."

"I know and I know that I'm the reason she left in the first place. That's why I haven't told her and I'm not going to tell her." Kurt hugged the brunette. "I'd rather have her in my life as a friend than not have her in my life at all. I just... I love her so much."

"I know." Kurt whispered as his best friend cried.

* * *

**A/N: I've got chapter 5 written and the next five chapters outline with bits and pieces of those written. I have a feeling that this might end up being more than fifteen chapters because as I was outlining, I realized there was a lot more that I wanted to tell than I originally planned. This story just kind of expanded but I love what it's expanded to. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this!**


	5. Chapter 5

Matt looked up at the soft knock and raised a surprised eyebrow at the sight of his ex-wife. "San. Come in." Santana nodded and stepped into the office. "Do you want something to drink?"

"I'm good, thanks." Matt nodded.

"Why aren't you at the diner?" Santana sighed.

"I have the day off. I have some things to take care of." she said, sitting in the chair in front of his desk. "Why the change of heart? I know you said Rachel's call, but that's bullshit and we both know that." Matt looked down before standing up and closing his office door.

"I'm getting married. When my fiancée found out about the twins, she... Well, she didn't like that I just stopped talking to my kids and after some thinking I realized that it was a huge mistake." Santana stared as he walked back to his desk.

"Back up. You're getting married?" she exclaimed. Matt nodded. "When?"

"Next year." Santana sighed. "And no, she's not pregnant." Santana let out a slight chuckle. "I did love you, San. You were my high school sweetheart, but when I left for college-"

"Things changed. I get it." Santana whispered. They'd been strong for the three years they were both at McKinley but when Matt graduated and she was still in high school, they grew apart. Running into each other a few years later was just a coincidence that they both got caught up in. "We worked as teenagers, but not as adults." Matt nodded. "Fine. You can see the twins, but... I need to be there for the first few months and I keep full custody."

"Deal. What about their birthday? I know it's today, but..." Matt trailed off.

"I don't want the initial meeting to happen on their birthday. They may not react well and I don't want to ruin their birthday. I'm taking them to a Yankees game in a week, what about the day after?"

"Sounds good. Oh, and Mariah wants to meet them." Santana bit her lip.

"I don't have a problem with that, I'm not going to be one of those exes that refuses to allow the new wife to be around the kids, but not until I'm comfortable with you being back in their lives and I want to meet her first. It'll make me feel better if I've met her before she's around my kids. Oh, and for the first time she meets them, I need to be there. Just in case, okay?" Matt nodded.

"This is on your terms, San. You're in control. I know I have to earn your trust back." Santana smiled slightly. "I actually have a meeting in a few minutes."

"Yeah, I should get going. I have an apology I need to make before I pick up the twins." Matt raised an eyebrow.

"An apology? You must feel really guilty, I've never heard you apologize to anyone." Santana rolled her eyes.

"That's not true."

"You didn't even apologize when you broke my mom's oven in high school." Santana scoffed.

"That wasn't my fault. It was a stupid oven." Matt laughed loudly.

"It's great to see you, San. You know my number, call me when you're free so we can set something up." Santana smiled and nodded, walking out of the office.

* * *

"Can I help you?" Santana smiled politely at the receptionist.

"I'm looking for Rachel Berry."

"Do you have an appointment?" Santana bit her lip.

"I don't, but I'm an old friend. I was trying to surprise her." The receptionist eyed her for a moment before looking at a calendar.

"She's free this afternoon. Her office is the third door on your right." Santana smiled. "She doesn't get many surprises. She's been really happy these last couple of weeks, but today she's been really upset. I hope your surprise cheers her up."

"I think it will. Thank you very much." Santana walked down the hallway, knocking on Rachel's office door. The brunette looked up, gasping slightly.

"San." she whispered, dropping her pen. Santana smiled. "Come in. Is everything okay? Why aren't you at work?"

"I need to talk to you. You didn't come to the diner yesterday, so I had to come to you." Rachel nodded. She'd wanted to give Santana some space before attempting to talk to her again.

"I'm so sorry. I never thought my actions would cause Matt to ask to be back in the twins' lives. He's not trying to get custody, is he? I don't think I'd ever forgive myself." Santana chuckled.

"Calm down, Rach. All he wants is to see them. I know Matt, I could tell that he wasn't just saying that to get me to agree to it so he could have an in." Rachel smiled. "He's actually engaged and his fiancée wants to meet the twins. There's a lot of details to work out, I told him I needed to see how he was around them and then meet her before she could meet them."

"That sounds reasonable. The twins are the first priority." Santana smiled and nodded.

"I'm not here to talk about that though. I'm actually here to apologize. I was out of line the other day. I shouldn't have acted like that, you didn't know that would happen. Hell, you didn't even know I had kids until you called Matt, how could you have foreseen that?" Rachel smiled. "I want to make it up to you."

"You don't have to do that, Santana. I wasn't mad at you."

"No, please. You... Come over for dinner. You can meet the twins. It's about time, you practically know everything about them by now and you are going to a baseball game with us in a week."

"You still want me to go?" Rachel asked. Santana laughed.

"First of all, you bought your ticket, you don't need my permission to go. And of course I do." Rachel smiled. "Come over. It's their birthday, you can celebrate with us."

"Wait, today's their birthday? Why aren't you with them?" Santana chuckled.

"They're with my neighbor at the moment. She wanted to take them and her kid to some kid place for lunch and I thought that would be a good opportunity to take this. Anyway, Kurt's coming tonight."

"Kurt? You talked to Kurt?" Santana nodded.

"Yeah, he came by the diner yesterday for lunch. We talked over some stuff and when I let it slip that today's their birthday, he insisted on coming so he could bring them gifts."

"That sounds like him." Santana laughed.

"Actually, Kurt and Mickey both made me realize I was a total bitch to you. I mean, I would have figured it out on my own, but they sped up the process." Rachel chuckled. "Come on, Rach, it'll be like old times but better because my babies will be there." Rachel smiled.

"Okay. I'd love to. I need to know what kind of things they like, though." Santana raised an eyebrow. "For their birthday presents. If you could give me a couple of options, just in case I can't find one of them, that would be great."

"Um... Yeah, sure. Miguel likes trucks, you know those little toy cars? He loves them. Lilly loves coloring. Both of them love stuffed animals." Rachel nodded, writing the information down.

"Did you get them anything aside from the tickets? I don't want to get them the same thing you got."

"Yeah, I got Miguel some Legos and Lilly is getting some game she was wanting." Santana explained. Rachel nodded. "You don't have to get them anything, Rach." Rachel set her pen down and looked up with a grin.

"Don't be silly. However, I don't know where you live nor do I have your phone number in case I need to contact you." Santana laughed and wrote the information down. "Excellent. What time should I come over tonight?"

"What time do you get off?" Santana asked.

"Five, but I'll need time to get presents.

"You can come over around six if that works for you." Rachel smiled and nodded. "I'll see you then."

"I can't wait." Santana smiled. "Oh! Are you getting a cake or would you like me to?"

"I've got that covered. Miguel loves chocolate cake and Lilly loves vanilla, so we made cupcakes last night. Thanks though." Rachel nodded. "See you tonight, Rach."

"Bye Santana." Rachel whispered, smiling to herself as Santana left her office.

* * *

**A/N: When I first uploaded this story, I told myself I was only going to update once a week, but... Yeah, I don't have the patience for that lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next one will be up soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

Santana smiled as she opened the front door and saw Kurt and Rachel on the other side. "Hi! Come on in!" Rachel and Kurt stepped into the apartment, looking around. "I know it's not that big or probably not as nice as what you guys are-

"Santana, it's perfect. I love it." Rachel said, smiling. Santana nodded. "Where are the birthday boy and girl?"

"They're in the living room. They've been so excited ever since I told them that you guys were coming." Kurt and Rachel followed their friend into the living room, smiling at the two children they'd seen pictures of and heard so much about, but never actually met. "Kiddos, this is Rachel and Kurt, they're my friends. They came to celebrate your birthday with you." Lilly and Miguel smiled widely, causing Rachel to walk over.

"You're pretty." Lilly said. Rachel smiled softly.

"Thank you. I think you're prettier though, because you look just like your mom and she's the prettiest woman I've ever met." she said, causing Lilly to smile shyly.

"Mommy, she said I look like you!" Santana chuckled.

"That's because you do, mija, only you're way prettier than I am." Lilly giggled and shook her head. Miguel looked at the bag of presents that Kurt was holding.

"Are those for me and Lil?" Santana's glared.

"Miguel Anthony Rutherford." she scolded, raising an eyebrow at her son. The boy shrunk in his seat, mumbling an apology. "Told you he was like me." she whispered, causing Kurt to smirk. Rachel as about to say something when Lilly made her way over to her mother.

"Mommy?" Santana smiled and bent down to her daughter's level.

"What's up, pretty girl?" Lilly wrapped her arms around her mom's neck. "You okay?"

"When do we eat?" Santana laughed as she hugged her daughter.

"The pizza is on the way, Lil. You'll get to eat soon enough." Lilly smiled shyly. "Then we'll have cupcakes, you guys can open your presents, and then we'll watch a movie before you guys go to bed. Sound good?" Lilly nodded before looking up at Kurt.

"Are you my Mommy's friend?" Kurt smiled and nodded.

"I've known your mom since we were your age." Lilly's eyes widened, causing Santana to laugh and kiss her cheek.

"Why don't you go play a game with Kurt while I finish getting dinner ready, okay?" Lilly nodded as Santana stood up. "I only ordered one pizza. They only eat one slice each and you two eat like birds, so there was no point in ordering more than one. I'm making a salad too."

"That sounds great." Santana nodded, smiling as Miguel told Rachel a story before moving into the kitchen.

* * *

"Present time, guys!" Santana said, grabbing the two packages and setting one in front of each child. "These are from Mommy." Miguel and Lilly quickly unwrapped their presents, squealing in excitement. "Do you like them?"

"Yeah!" Miguel said, hugging his mom. Santana smiled and looked at Lilly.

"That's the one you wanted, right?" Lilly nodded, smiling up at the waitress.

"Thank you, Mommy." Santana kissed her head.

"You're welcome, sweetie." The twins looked over at Rachel and Kurt. "Rach, you want to go next?"

"Sure!" The brunette grabbed two packages and two bags, setting them in front of Lilly and Miguel, who quickly unwrapped them.

"Lil, what'd you get?" Santana asked. Lilly grinned and showed her mom the coloring books and stuffed rabbit. "Awesome. What about you, Miguel?"

"Trucks!" Santana grinned as she watched him hug the stuffed bear. "Thanks!"

"Thank you." Rachel smiled softly.

"You're welcome. Happy birthday, guys." she said, looking over as Kurt set two packages in front of each child. Miguel opened the first one and looked up at Santana.

"It's a book." Santana smiled softly. "Will you read it to me?"

"Of course, buddy. That's one of my favorites too." Kurt smiled.

"They both are." Santana smiled as she saw Lilly hold up her other favorite. "Open the other ones." Lilly quickly opened the other present to find an outfit.

"Mija, you're going to look so pretty." Santana whispered, kissing her head as she turned to find Miguel holding up an outfit as well. "You are going to look so fly, little man." Miguel grinned. "What do you say?"

"Thank you." Kurt grinned.

"You're welcome." Santana bit her lip.

"Rach, hand me that envelope." When the envelope was in her hands, Santana smiled at the twins.

"This is from me. Happy birthday, guys." The twins carefully opened the envelope, screaming when they saw the familiar logo. "We're going next weekend."

"Thank you!" Santana grinned as they hugged her.

"I love you both so much." she whispered. Rachel smiled softly at the sight, leaning against Kurt.

"She's a great mom." she whispered. Kurt nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Did you guys like your presents?" Lilly nodded eagerly. "What about Rachel and Kurt? Did you like them?"

"They're really nice." Santana smiled.

"You know, Rachel's coming to the game with us. Is that okay?"

"Yeah! I like her!" Miguel said. Santana chuckled as she kissed her son's cheek.

"Oh! Mickey sent these for you two." she said, handing them each a present. Miguel opened his to find a remote control car.

"Cool!" Lilly opened hers to find a new doll.

"I was telling Mickey about this!" Santana grinned.

"I'll help you write thank you letters tomorrow." Miguel and Lilly nodded. "Come on, let's go pick a movie."

* * *

Kurt smiled as he stood next to Santana. "Your kids are great, San." Santana smiled softly as she watched Rachel play with the twins.

"Thanks. And thanks for doing all of this for them. It was really nice of you guys." Kurt followed her line of vision, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, she thinks you left because of her." Santana raised an eyebrow.

"Because of her?"

"Yeah, because of what happened right before you left." Santana took a deep breath.

"I didn't leave because Rachel was in love with me." she whispered. Kurt turned slightly, facing the waitress.

"Then why'd you leave?" he asked softly. Santana bit her lip.

"I left because I was in love with Rachel."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah... :) See you in a couple of days!**


	7. Chapter 7

"What?" Kurt exclaimed. Rachel looked over from her spot with Lilly and Miguel.

"What's wrong?" Santana glared at Kurt before shaking her head.

"Nothing. Guys, why don't you go show Rachel your room?" The twins nodded eagerly, pulling their new friend to their bedroom. "Yeah, I was in love with her."

"Then why'd you leave?"

"I was scared, okay? I'd never had feelings for a girl and I was planning on coming back and figuring things out with her, but by the time I got my head out of my ass, I was pregnant." Santana said, shrugging.

"How did that even happen?" Kurt asked.

"I ran into Matt the night after everything with Rachel went down. I ended up at a bar and he was there with some of his friends. We started talking and then we started drinking. Next thing I knew, we were at his apartment and then we hooked up." Santana explained. Kurt nodded.

"Why did it take you so long to figure out your feelings?"

"I couldn't tell you that one." Santana whispered. Kurt wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Anyway... I found out I was pregnant and I didn't think she'd like that and then Matt's family wanted us to get married and I really didn't think she'd be into that. And now... I hear her laughing with my kids and all I can think is that I could have been hearing that sound for the last five years." Kurt shook his head in disbelief.

"You have to tell her." Santana shook her head quickly.

"No, I can't. And you can't tell her either, Kurt." Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"But San-"

"No, Kurt! She doesn't love me anymore and I don't want her getting freaked out because I've been in love with her for five years even though we haven't spoken and I was married to someone else." Santana hissed. Before Kurt could respond, Rachel walked in.

"The twins are starting to come down from their sugar high." Santana chuckled.

"You're good with them, you know. I can tell they like you." Rachel grinned. "They like both of you." Kurt smiled slightly.

"Well, if you ever need us to babysit, let us know." Santana nodded as she smiled softly at Rachel. After a moment, she shook her head.

"I'm gonna, um... I'm gonna go check on the kids."

"We should go so you can get them in bed." Santana bit her lip, but nodded. "I'll see you in the morning, San." Santana blushed as Rachel kissed her cheek.

"You're coming back to the diner?" Rachel smiled and nodded. "Great! I'll see you then. Kurt, you can come whenever you want."

"Except breakfast. That's our time." Santana smiled at Rachel. Kurt internally rolled his eyes; he didn't understand how both of them were convinced their feelings weren't reciprocated when it was so obvious that they were.

"I'll come sometime. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff Santana and I have to catch up on." Santana raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to go say goodbye to Lilly and Miguel."

"You do that." Santana said, watching as he walked away. When she looked back at Rachel, she had a confused expression.

"What was that?" Santana smiled and shook her head. "I missed this. The three of us hanging out."

"So did I." Santana admitted. Rachel smiled. "Thanks for coming and thanks for the presents for the twins."

"I'm glad they liked them and me. I was scared they wouldn't."

"They love you. How could they not?" Rachel blushed. "They were so excited when I told them you were coming to the game with us next week."

"I can't wait." Santana smiled softly. "I really missed you, San."

"I really missed you too. I forgot how great it was just hanging out with you." Rachel smiled slightly. "And Kurt." Santana added quickly.

"Right. And Kurt." Rachel whispered, biting her lip. Santana smiled softly as she stepped closer to Rachel. "I'm really looking forward to the baseball game next weekend."

"So am I." Kurt walked back in, causing the waitress to take a step back. "Did you want to go say bye to the twins?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Kurt, I'll be right back. Do you want to share a cab?" Kurt nodded and Rachel smiled as she walked toward the twins' bedroom. Kurt moved to grab his jacket when Santana grabbed his arm.

"Kurt, you have to promise that you won't say anything to Rachel. If I tell her, it'll be on my own terms." Kurt sighed, but nodded.

"You have to promise that you'll at least think about telling her."

"Fine. I'll think about it. But I'm not promising I'll actually tell her though." Kurt nodded. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I can ask for." Santana smiled as Rachel walked back over.

"Will you guys text me when you get back to your apartments?" she asked.

"Sure." Rachel said, pulling her friend into a hug. Santana bit her lip, hugging her back before pulling away. Rachel raised a confused eyebrow as the waitress hugged Kurt, but said nothing. "See you in the morning, San."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Rach." Santana said, waving as she closed her front door. Sighing, she locked the door and moved to check on the twins.

* * *

Santana smiled as she saw Rachel's name on her Caller ID. "Hey." she said.

_"Hi! I know you said to text, but I wanted to hear your voice."_ Santana laughed.

"A phone call is so much better anyway. I'm guessing you got home safely?" she asked.

_"I did. I wanted to say thanks for having us over. We both had a really great time and the twins are so awesome."_

"They loved you guys too. I think Miguel has a crush on you though." Rachel laughed.

_"Can you blame him?"_

"No." Santana whispered, biting her lip. Rachel let out another laugh. "Hey, um, I have to go. This girl is coming to see me in the morning and I need sleep so I can have an intelligent conversation with her." Rachel let out an exaggerated gasp.

_"Are you cheating on me?"_ Santana chuckled.

"You caught me." Rachel giggled. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

_"Okay. Good night Santana."_

"Night Rach." Santana said, hanging up her phone and sighing. Closing her eyes, she set her phone down. "I wish I could tell you how in love with you I am."

* * *

Rachel bit her lip as she looked at her phone screen. "I wish you loved me back." she whispered, locking her phone and setting it down.

* * *

**A/N: this chapter was necessary to stay in the same evening, so I apologize if it seems slow. The next chapter picks up again, so I think you guys will like it!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Lilly. Miguel. Come here." Santana pulled her twins off to the side, away from the crowd. "There are going to be a lot of people in there, okay? You guys need to be holding either my hand or Rachel's hand at all times unless we're in our seats. You are not allowed to run off and you are not allowed to go anywhere without me or Rachel. If you have to go to the bathroom, let us know. Do you understand?" The twins nodded. "Okay, we're going to wait for Rachel and then we'll go in."

"I'm here." Miguel's face lit up as he saw his new friend. "Hi guys!"

"Hi Rachel." Lilly said, leaning into Santana shyly. Rachel smiled and hugged both children.

"Can we go in now?" Miguel asked, grabbing Rachel's hand. Santana chuckled as she stood up and grabbed Lilly's hand.

"Yes, buddy, we're going in. Remember the rules."

* * *

Rachel couldn't help but laugh as she saw the amazement on Lilly and Miguel's faces. The moment they'd walked into the stadium, the twins had been speechless, silently observing everything.

"It's huge, Rachel." Miguel whispered, clinging to her as they found their seats. The boy continued to look around as he sat down next to his sister.

"I know it is." Rachel said, chuckling as she sat down next to him. Santana looked over from her spot on the other side of Lilly.

"What do you think, Miguel?" He smiled at his mom, causing her to grin as she kissed Lilly's head. "Lil?"

"It's so cool." Santana smiled and looked up as Rachel pulled out her phone.

"I want a picture of the three of you at the twins' first Yankees game!" Rachel said, smiling as Miguel got out of his seat and hopped in Santana's lap. Once Rachel was satisfied with the picture, Santana grabbed the device.

"I want one of you three." Rachel chuckled as the twins rushed over to her and took the picture.

"Do you want one of the four of you?" Santana looked up and smiled at the man in the row in front of them.

"Sure. Thank you." she said, handing him Rachel's phone and helping Lilly back in her seat before smiling at the camera. "Thank you so much."

"No problem."

"Get one of Mommy and Rachel." Miguel said. The women looked at each other.

"Do you want one?" Santana asked. Rachel smiled and nodded, causing Santana to sit in Miguel's seat and smile. "Thank you again."

"Of course. You two have a beautiful family." Rachel chuckled nervously as she accepted her phone.

"We're not... I'm just a friend. But thank you." Santana looked down for a moment before moving back to her seat.

* * *

"Did you guys have fun?" Santana asked as the game ended. The twins were clutching their souvenirs, nodding frantically. "Good, I'm glad."

"Can we come back?" Santana bit her lip for a moment.

"We'll see. Come on, let's get going." Miguel immediately latched onto Rachel as Lilly grabbed her mom's hand and the group began to leave the stadium.

"Can I pay for a cab? They seem pretty tired and the subway is going to be crowded." Rachel said, looking at Santana. The waitress bit her lip, but nodded.

"Sure. Thank you."

* * *

"Do you want to hang out for a little bit?" Rachel smiled and nodded, sitting on the couch. "I could make some coffee. I don't really have any alcohol, I stopped drinking when I got pregnant and I haven't since."

"Coffee would be great, thank you." Santana nodded and moved to the kitchen. "Um... Could we talk about something? I've been wanting to say this since we started hanging out again."

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" Rachel took a deep breath.

"It's about the night you left." Santana raised an eyebrow. "We've never talked about it."

"Okay." Rachel bit her lip. "What about it?"

"I had feelings for you, Santana. I know I went around it the wrong way, but... My feelings were genuine. I just want to make sure you knew that."

"I knew and you didn't go about it the wrong way. I liked the kiss. I liked it a lot, actually." Rachel frowned in confusion.

"Wait, what? I'm just... I'm confused. What?" Santana took a deep breath.

"I had feelings for you too." Rachel gasped. "I didn't know how to deal with them, so I left."

"You should have talked to me."

"I'd never had feelings for a girl before, Rachel. I was terrified! By the time I wasn't... I was pregnant and then I was married. I didn't even want to marry Matt, his parents wanted us to."

"Did you want to be with me?" Santana nodded.

"I was in love with you. I still am." she whispered. Rachel bit her lip, looking down. "I know I should have told you, but I didn't think you'd want me once I was pregnant."

"You didn't know because you didn't say anything. You don't know what I would have done, San." Santana closed her eyes. "For the last five years, I've been blaming myself. All I could think was if I hadn't kissed her, she wouldn't have left. I wouldn't have lost my best friend. That's a terrible feeling."

"Rachel-"

"I've been in pain for years. I've been in love with someone who I believed wasn't in love with me and would never reciprocate my feelings. At least you knew I had feelings for you." Santana closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, okay? But would you really have wanted to date a pregnant girl?"

"I don't know! I do know that it would have been different because it was you!" Rachel yelled. Santana looked toward the twins' room. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

"It's okay." Rachel took a deep breath.

"I'm going to go."

"Rachel..." Santana whispered. The brunette sighed.

"I need to go, Santana. I need some time to think." Santana bit her lip.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked. Rachel looked down and shook her head.

"I'm going out of town for a few days for a business trip." Santana's heart fell.

"Oh. Okay. Have fun." Rachel nodded and walked out of the apartment.

* * *

**A/N: So sorry for the wait! I meant to leave you guys hanging for a few days after that cliffhanger in the last chapter, but not this long! School work has piled up faster than I'd anticipated, so the updates aren't going to be quite as fast but I will finish this story, I promise!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I am so sorry about the wait! I'm going to have chapter 10 up as soon as possible! I definitely have not given up on this story and I hope you guys haven't either! This is one of my favorite stories that I've written and I fully intend on seeing it through until the end! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

A week.

It'd been a week since she'd last spoken to Rachel. Actually, it'd been eight days, but she definitely wasn't counting.

Kurt had been coming to the diner every morning. He kept insisting that Rachel didn't hate her, but she believed him less every day.

It's not like she was staring at the phone waiting for a call or a text, she had a job and two five year old twins to take care of, but it definitely hurt when she'd look at the screen and see that she hadn't missed any messages from Rachel.

The meeting between Matt and the twins had gone great. They remembered him and even though Lilly was a bit hesitant and Miguel had given him the famous Lopez glare, it'd been good. They were already planning another get-together.

That meeting was about the only time she hadn't been thinking about Rachel. She wanted to call her, but she didn't want to freak her out even more and she wanted to respect Rachel's request for time to think.

Santana was just about to walk out of the apartment when her phone rang. "Hold on, guys." she said, digging the device out of her purse. Grabbing Miguel's jacket, she answered the call. "Hello?"

_"Santana, hi. It's Wendy."_

"Oh, hey. I was just about to leave to bring the twins to your apartment." the waitress said as she helped Lilly into her jacket.

_"Actually, that's why I'm calling. I think I caught that bug that's going around and I don't want to chance giving it to the twins."_

"Yeah, I appreciate that. Um... Thanks for letting me know." Santana said, running her hand over her face.

_"I'm so sorry about this."_

"Don't even worry about it, things like this happen. I hope you feel better." Santana replied, hanging up the phone. Looking down at her watch, she sighed. "Damn it."

* * *

A week.

It'd been a week since she'd last spoken to Santana. Actually, it'd been eight days, but she definitely wasn't counting.

She knew Kurt had been going to the diner every morning. He kept insuring that Santana didn't hate her, but she believed him less and less every day.

It wasn't like she hadn't wanted to call or text Santana. She'd dialed the waitress's number and typed out messages, but she couldn't seem to hit the send button. She wanted to, but she was so confused about everything. So she settled for looking at the pictures from the twins' birthday party and the baseball game. She missed the twins, but she mostly missed their beautiful mother.

Her business trip went okay. All she could think about was Santana. She couldn't remember what had happened in the meetings she'd attended, because she could only focus on the woman she'd left in New York.

"I love having the day off." Rachel said, smiling at Kurt. She had gotten back from her business trip the day before and decided to wait another day before going back to work.

"Have you talked to Santana?" Kurt asked. Rachel bit her lip.

"No." Kurt smiled sadly. "I don't know what to do."

"Do you love her?" Rachel nodded

"Absolutely. I'm just so hurt."

"That's understandable. But you still need to talk to her. Ignoring her for a week is not fair to either of you and it's not fair to the twins." Rachel raised an eyebrow. "She said they've been asking about you."

"I didn't even consider the possibility that my actions could hurt Lilly and Miguel. I feel like a terrible person." Rachel said, biting her lip.

"You're not a terrible person." Rachel shrugged just as her phone rang. Grabbing the device, she answered without looking at the Caller ID.

"Hello?" she answered, sipping her coffee.

_"Rach?"_ The brunette's eyes went wide as she choked on the drink. _"Rachel, are you okay?"_

"Santana." Rachel whispered. Kurt raised an eyebrow.

_"Hey... Look, I know you said you needed time to think but the twins' babysitter is sick and even though everything with Matt and the twins went great, I don't feel comfortable asking him to watch them or even leaving them with him. I know this is a lot to ask, but-"_

"Santana, slow down. You need someone to watch Lilly and Miguel?" Rachel asked.

_"Yeah. They've been asking about you, but it's okay if you don't want to or if you can't."_

"I would love to. I was planning on spending the day with Kurt, is it okay if he comes with me?" Rachel looked over at Kurt, silently asking if he'd want to join her. When he nodded, she grinned.

_"Yeah, sure. Thanks for this. I really appreciate it."_

"Of course. We're on our way." Rachel said, hanging up. Kurt laughed at the expression on her face. "She called me."

"You're like a teenager." Rachel rolled her eyes, grabbing her purse and following Kurt out of her apartment.

* * *

Santana smiled as she walked into her apartment that evening. She could hear Lilly and Miguel playing with Rachel and Kurt and when they came into her line of sight, she leaned against the doorframe. "Having fun?" The four looked up, all of them grinning when they saw her.

"Mommy!" Santana hugged her kids before meeting Rachel's eyes.

"Hey." she whispered. Rachel smiled shyly.

"Hi." After a moment, Kurt cleared his throat.

"Guys, why don't we go play in your room for a few minutes?" he suggested, leading the twins out of the room. Santana bit her lip, stepping closer to Rachel.

"How was your trip?"

"Lonely. All I could think about was you." Rachel whispered. Santana raised a eyebrow. "I missed you, San."

"I missed you too, Rachel." Rachel smiled.

"I missed seeing you in the morning. You make my mornings great." Santana blushed, looking down. Clearing her throat, she met Rachel's gaze again.

"Thanks for doing this. I would have been screwed if you'd said no." she said, smiling slightly. Rachel bit her lip. "I'm sorry about the other night."

"I'm not. I'm glad it's all in the open now." Rachel said. Santana nodded slowly. "I have something to tell you."

"Go ahead."

"I'm done ignoring you and I'm done ignoring my feelings." Santana raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell does that even mean?" she asked. Rachel looked behind her, making sure Kurt was still with the twins before pulling Santana into a kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

Santana smiled into the kiss, pulling Rachel close. She couldn't believe she was finally kissing the woman she'd been in love with for years. Before she could pull Rachel into her bedroom, she heard a voice.

"Mommy!" Santana pulled away, resting her forehead on Rachel's.

"One sec, baby." she called out, smiling softly. Rachel bit her lip as Santana stared at her. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Why?"

"Because now that I've kissed you, I don't want to stop." Rachel smiled widely. "I need to go see what Miguel wants. Stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere, San." Santana smiled at the double meaning, hugging Rachel before walking away. Rachel smiled as watched Santana walk into the other room. She could hear the woman discussing something with her son before laughing as she walked back out. "Everything okay?"

"Lilly and Miguel disagreed over what book they wanted Kurt to read to them. Where were we?" Santana whispered, pulling Rachel into another kiss.

"Wait, we need to talk." Rachel said, giggling.

"Not tonight, babe. I want to kiss you tonight." Santana said, smiling. Rachel chuckled as she kissed the waitress again before pulling her to the couch.

"Your kids are in the next room." she whispered as she kissed Santana. Santana grinned and leaned into the kiss, pulling Rachel closer.

"Whoa." The pair broke apart, turning their heads to find Kurt watching them with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you need something?" Santana asked, wrapping her arms around Rachel protectively.

"The twins are about to fall asleep. I thought you guys might want to say goodnight, but if you're preoccupied..." Kurt trailed off, laughing. Rachel glared at the man as she stood up. "No explanation?"

"You can wait." Santana said, walking into her kids' bedroom.

* * *

"Okay, so what's going on between you two now?" Rachel looked up at Santana.

"That's up to Santana. And it's a conversation that we are going to have together, not with you." Kurt scoffed.

"Not fair." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Hummel. Get out of my apartment." Kurt chuckled.

"I want details tomorrow." he said, hugging his friends before walking out the apartment. When the door was closed, Rachel smiled at Santana.

"This is your decision. Whatever you want to do, we'll do. If you want to wait-"

"I'm done waiting. I don't want to wait anymore, I just want to be with you." Santana whispered, looking at the brunette. Rachel smiled softly. "I want to be together."

"Then we're together." Santana smiled. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."

"So have I." Santana said, pulling Rachel into a hug. Rachel held onto the waitress. "Babe, loosen the grip."

"No, you might disappear." Santana chuckled.

"I'm not going anywhere, Rach. Never again, okay? Not without you and my babies." Rachel smiled softly. "Don't let me get lost again."

"I won't, I promise. I've got you now, okay?" Santana smiled softly. "I love you, Santana."

"I love you too, Rach." Santana whispered, kissing the woman before pulling away quickly. "You're my girlfriend now, right?" Rachel let out a laugh.

"Yes, I'm your girlfriend now." Santana grinned. "I hate to leave though."

"Then don't. Stay the night." Rachel smiled sadly.

"I can't, baby, I have some work to catch up on before I go back tomorrow." Santana pouted. "But I'll call you as soon as I get back to my apartment."

"Are you coming to the diner tomorrow?" Santana asked. Rachel nodded.

"Definitely and... Do you want to bring the twins over to my place tomorrow? I can make dinner and we can watch movies. You guys could spend the night, my place is a little closer to the diner than yours is. Except... What about the babysitter?"

"The babysitter lives down the street from the diner." Rachel smiled. "We can walk to the diner together."

"I can't wait." Rachel said, kissing her girlfriend.

* * *

**A/N: This was sooner than I'd expected, haha. I hope two chapters in one day makes up for the wait between chapters 8 and 9! Chapter 11 will be up soon, I promise. It'll be a good one!**


	11. Chapter 11

"San!" Santana grinned as Mickey hugged her.

"Hey! How was your vacation?" she asked.

"It was good. How was the game? Did the twins have fun?"

"The kids had a blast at the game. They were in awe the entire-" Santana trailed off as Rachel stepped into the diner with a shy smile on her face. Smiling, Santana waited as Rachel walked up to her. "Hey."

"Hi." Rachel whispered. Mickey watched with a raised eyebrow as he walked to his usual booth. "Good morning, Mickey."

"Good morning, Rachel." Santana grabbed her hand, kissing her softly. "I was afraid I had dreamed what happened last night."

"It wasn't a dream. It's a dream come true." Rachel laughed softly. "I'll go get you some coffee."

"Thank you." Rachel said, leaning in slightly before pulling away and moving to sit in her usual booth. Before she could slide in, she heard a familiar voice.

"Rachel, come join me this morning." Rachel smiled slightly, moving to sit across from Mickey. "So... You and Santana?"

"We're together now." Rachel said, smiling at the thought of her girlfriend.

"Since when?"

"Last night." Mickey nodded. "Mickey, I know you care about San. I promise that I will take care of her and treat her with the respect she deserves. I will never hurt her, not intentionally." Mickey raised an amused eyebrow. "I just assumed that was where this conversation was headed." Rachel said, smiling sheepishly.

"I was just going to say finally." Rachel laughed as Santana appeared.

"What's going on?" she asked, appearing with a mug.

"Nothing, baby." Santana smiled at the brunette, leaning down and kissing the woman.

"I was just telling Rachel how happy I am that the two of you finally told each other how you felt. It was obvious you two were in love with each other." Rachel looked over quickly.

"You knew she was in love with me?" Santana raised an eyebrow.

"You knew she was in love with me?" she echoed. Mickey laughed.

"Everyone knew you two were in love with each other." Rachel looked up at her girlfriend.

"I guess we were the only ones who didn't know." Santana chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

"I'll see you tonight?" Rachel whispered as she slid out of the booth. Santana grinned and nodded.

"Definitely. I want to tell the twins at dinner, is that okay?"

"Of course." Santana hugged the brunette.

"I can't wait." Rachel smiled, leaning in and kissing her girlfriend. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby." Rachel said, waving as she made her way to the front door of the diner. Santana smiled, staring at the door until Mickey cleared his throat.

"What?"

"I can't believe neither one of you realized you were both in love with each other." Santana rolled her eyes.

"I realize it now. That's what's important, right?" Mickey chuckled. "Shut up, Mickey." she said, grinning at the man.

"I've never seen you this happy." Santana blushed.

"She's already made me so happy and it hasn't even been a day." she whispered.

* * *

"I haven't seen you smile this much in a few weeks." Rachel shrugged.

"I'm happy." she explained, smiling at her secretary.

"Does this have anything to do with that woman that came by a few weeks ago? Because the smile you have right now is the same smile you had when she left that day." Rachel chuckled.

"Yes, it does." she said, walking back into her office. She looked over at the picture of herself and Santana from the baseball game that she'd printed out and put in a frame. She stared at the photo for a moment and smiled before looking at the picture next to it, which was the picture of the two of them with the twins. Before she could return to work, her phone vibrated and she looked at it to see a message from Santana.

**Thinking of you... xoxo**

Rachel grinned at the accompanying picture, which was a simple picture of her smiling girlfriend. Chuckling, she quickly took a picture of herself blowing a kiss before typing out a response.

**Love you, gorgeous.**

She was about to put her phone away when she received a reply.

**Love you too. Gotta go, can't wait to see you later!**

Rachel smiled softly, putting away her phone and returning to work. She couldn't wait either.

* * *

Rachel smiled as she swung her front door open. "Hi guys! Welcome to my home!" Santana grinned as the twins walked in, kissing Rachel quickly before allowing the brunette to shut her door. "I made spaghetti, I hope that's okay."

"We love spaghetti!" Miguel said. Rachel grinned.

"How'd you know?" Santana whispered.

"I noticed a lot of spaghetti noodles at your place when I babysat and I just took a chance that spaghetti was their favorite meal. I'm glad I was right."

"Good job, babe." Santana said, smiling. Rachel smiled as Santana set the duffle bag she'd brought down in the corner. Within minutes, the four were sitting at Rachel's table, eating dinner. "This is really good, Rach."

"Thank you." Santana looked over at her kids, smiling as she watched them eat. "Do you guys like it?"

"Yeah!" Lilly said, smiling. Santana chuckled, wiping her daughter's face.

"You cook good." Miguel added.

"It's well, mijo. She cooks well." Santana corrected gently. Miguel shrugged, biting into his garlic bread.

"Thank you, guys. I'm glad you like it. Maybe I can cook some other things for you, if your mom will let me." The twins looked over at their mom.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Santana agreed, smiling softly. Rachel winked before sipping her water. "Guys, I have to tell you something. Rachel and I... We're dating. Remember how Daddy and I used to be married?" The twins nodded. "Well, before we got married, we were dating and now that's what Rachel and I are doing. We're not married yet, but we're in a relationship. Is that okay with you two?" Miguel looked over at Rachel.

"You like Mommy?"

"I love your mom." Rachel whispered, smiling at the boy. He looked over at his sister before nodding. "Is it okay if I date her?"

"Yeah, it's okay with us." Lilly said, smiling. Rachel grinned at Santana, who smiled softly.

"Thank you." the waitress whispered, leaning over and kissing her daughter's head before standing up and kissing her son's head.

* * *

"Not that it wasn't already decided, the spaghetti made it official. You've won over my children." Santana commented as she sipped the coffee Rachel had poured her. The twins were sleeping in one of Rachel's guest rooms and the new couple were taking the opportunity to talk.

"Now all I need to do is win over their mother." Santana smiled.

"Mission accomplished. Come here." she said, leaning in and kissing her girlfriend. Rachel smiled into the kiss before pulling away. "God, if I'd know how good this would feel, I would have given into me feelings weeks ago. Actually, scratch that. I would have given into my feelings years ago."

"Hey, we kissed. You said you liked it, remember?" Rachel teased.

"Not just kissing... All of this. Being in a relationship with you. I always imagined it would be great, but I never imagined it would be this great and it's only been a day."

"And I haven't even taken you out on a date yet." Rachel said, winking. Santana chuckled. "I'm glad we're finally together."

"So am I." Rachel set her mug down before worming her way into Santana's embrace.

"You never told me how the twins and Matt got along. You said things went well, but how did they react to seeing him again?"

"Lil was a little hesitant at first, but after about fifteen minutes she came around. Miguel glared at Matt for about thirty, despite my attempts to get him to knock it off, but he eventually came around to after telling Matt he was butthead." Rachel let out a small laugh. "I'm trying to teach them to respect adults, but I let that one slide since the man did ignore them for a year."

"Are they going to see him again?"

"Yeah. I think we're going to try to meet up next week." Santana said, leaning her head against Rachel's.

"What about his fiancée?" Rachel asked, looking up at Santana.

"I don't know. It depends on when I'm completely comfortable with Matt being around them. Besides, I have to meet her first." Rachel nodded. "When I do... Will you go with me?" Rachel smiled softly.

"Sure, baby." Santana nodded. "Have you finished your coffee?"

"Yeah, I was thinking about going to bed." Rachel nodded as she got up and put the mugs in her dishwasher. "Where... We're do you want me to sleep?"

"You are more than welcome to sleep in my bed with me, but I'd understand if you want to sleep in my second guest room." Santana smiled.

"Come on then." she said, grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling her into the brunette's bedroom.

* * *

**A/N: I've decided on a set number of chapters. This story will consist of 14 chapters, plus an epilogue. I've already started writing each of the remaining chapters and I'm starting to think of ideas for my next story. Just so you know, there's a time jump in the next chapter, but it's nothing to dramatic. It's just enough to get the story moving along so I can have chapter fourteen end where I want before the epilogue. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

After four months, Santana finally felt comfortable letting Matt's fiancée meet Miguel and Lilly. The twins had a great relationship with their father and everything went great when Santana and Rachel met Mariah.

Everything was going great in their own relationship as well. They'd gotten in the habit of spending time together every night and Rachel has started staying at Santana's apartment on the weekends and spending time with the twins when Santana would go to work.

At first, Matt had been a little upset when he found out that Rachel was spending time with the twins without restrictions and rules when his fiancée couldn't even meet them and he couldn't even spend time with them without supervision, but Santana quickly put him in his place.

_FLASHBACK_

_"Matt, you don't get a say in this. You gave that up when you walked out. And Rachel came into their lives as my friend and had been in their lives for a while before we started dating." Matt sighed. "I'm sure your fiancée will be great with them, but I need to be sure about you first. I need to be sure you won't let them down again."_

_"Yeah, okay. Sorry about that little freak out." Santana smiled._

_"It's fine." Matt smiled softly._

_"Rachel's really good with them. I can tell she really loves them." Santana grinned._

_"Yeah, she does. It only makes me love her even more." Matt chuckled._

_END FLASHBACK_

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Santana looked over to find Rachel staring at her.

"What?"

"Are you okay?" Santana smiled.

"Yeah, babe, I'm fine. I was just thinking, that's all." she explained.

"You nervous?" Rachel asked as they watched the twins play in the park. They were meeting Matt and Mariah there so the twins would have something to do while they waited.

"No, why would I be? The twins and Matt get along great and Mariah seems really nice. I got a good vibe from her, did you?"

"Yes, I did." Rachel said, smiling as she grabbed Santana's hand. Santana nodded. "I think everything will be fine."

"Yeah, me too. Thanks for coming with me." Santana whispered, kissing her girlfriend's forehead. Rachel leaned closer, but pulled away when she saw Matt and Mariah approaching.

"Good morning!" The pair smiled as the women stood up and hugged them. Santana smiled at Mariah.

"You sure you want to meet them? There's no turning back once they've smiled at you, just ask Rach." Rachel laughed.

"It's true. I was hooked." Mariah grinned and nodded.

"Okay. Miguel, Lilly!" The twins looked up and grinned when they saw their father.

"Daddy!" Matt bent down and hugged the kids before looking up at his fiancée.

"Guys, this is Mariah. She's going to be my wife soon." The twins stared up at the stranger before looking over at their mom.

"Say hi, guys." Santana said, smiling softly. Miguel spoke up first.

"Hi." he said, grinning at the woman before nudging his sister. Lilly looked up at the woman before shuffling closer to Rachel. Thinking the girl didn't like her, Mariah's smile fell slightly.

"It's not you, she's pretty shy." Santana explained. Mariah nodded and Rachel bent down slightly to talk to Lilly.

"What's wrong, pretty girl?" she whispered, smiling softly. Lilly shrugged. "Mariah is really nice. I bet you'd like her."

"But I like you." Lilly whispered. Rachel chuckled.

"You can like us both, sweetheart. I won't be mad if you like Mariah." she said. Lilly nodded slowly. "Give her a chance, sweetheart."

"You won't be mad at me?" Rachel shook her head. "Okay." Rachel was about to stand up when Lilly hugged her. "Love you, Rachie."

"I love you too, sweetheart." Rachel whispered, kissing Lilly's head before standing up. Lilly looked up at Rachel one more time before walking over to Mariah.

"Hi." Mariah smiled softly. "I'm Lilly."

"Hi Lilly. I'm Mariah." Lilly smiled as Mariah crouched down so they were at eye level.

"Rachie says you're really nice." Mariah chuckled.

"I think she's nice too." Lilly nodded. "Are you and Rachel close?"

"She's my best friend." Rachel chuckled softly as she leaned into Santana. "Maybe you can be my other best friend. Uncle Kurt, he's my other best friend right now, but he won't mind if you take over."

"Yes he will." Matt, Santana, and Rachel said at the same time, causing each other to laugh. Lilly looked up at her mom and the woman knew she was about to cry.

"Mija, you're allowed to have more than two best friends. Daddy had five best friends when we were younger." Matt nodded.

"It's true, baby girl. You can have Rachel, Kurt, and Mariah all be your best friends."

"And Miguel?" Lilly whispered. Rachel smiled softly.

"And Miguel too." Lilly nodded.

"Okay. I don't want to hurt anybody." Santana grinned.

"You're not, mija." Lilly nodded. "Does that mean Mariah is your new best friend?"

"Yeah!" Mariah smiled.

"Great. How about we all go to lunch?" Matt suggested, scooping up his daughter.

* * *

"So how did the twins get along with Matt's fiancée ? What's her name again?"

"Mariah." Rachel said as she scanned the menu she was looking at. Kurt nodded. "They seemed to like her. Lilly was a little hesitant at first."

"Why?"

"She thought I would be upset if she liked Mariah." Rachel explained.

"Are you?" Kurt asked. Rachel looked up.

"Excuse me?" Kurt shrugged. "Of course not. I mean, yeah it's going to be weird having someone else play a similar role in their lives, but I would never be upset with them for liking their stepmother."

"Just making sure." Rachel rolled her eyes just as their waitress walked up.

"Are you two ready to order?" Rachel looked up and saw the waitress smiling at her. Smiling politely, she nodded and closed her menu.

"I'll have your soup of the day and a house salad." Kurt nodded.

"I'll take the same, please." The waitress sent Rachel another smile before walking away. "She is so into you."

"Really?" Kurt nodded. "Unfortunately for her, my heart belongs to another waitress. It has since high school and now that she's finally mine, I'm not giving that up." Kurt chuckled. "Oh! Did I tell you that the twins are starting school in a couple of weeks?"

"Oh my god, that's right. School is starting soon. Now that I don't get summer breaks, I kind of lose track of that kind of stuff. Kindergarten, right?" Rachel nodded. "How's Santana?"

"She's a wreck. The other day, commercial for school supplies came on and I mentioned that one of us will need to take the twins to go get some supplies soon. She started crying." Kurt laughed. "I don't know what she's going to do when she drops them off on the first day."

"She's a really good mother." Kurt commented. Rachel nodded.

"Yeah, she is. She's a great girlfriend too. Kurt, I've never felt this loved, safe, and protected in a relationship before." she admitted.

"I've never seen you this happy in a relationship before." Rachel smiled.

"I really love her and I love the twins." Kurt smiled softly. "I know we've only been together for four months, but I can see myself marrying someday." Biting his lip to keep his smile from growing too wide, Kurt nodded. He wanted to tell her that Santana had said the same thing to him recently, but it wasn't his place.

_FLASHBACK_

_"God, she's so amazing. Kurt, this woman... She is literally the best thing that could have ever happened to me besides my kids. I am so in love with her." Kurt chuckled as he ate his lunch. _

_"So it's going well?"_

_"It's incredible. I can see this lasting, I really can." Santana admitted, smiling shyly._

_END FLASHBACK_

"I hope that happens, Rach. You two are perfect for each other." Rachel smiled softly.

"Yeah, we are." she whispered.

* * *

**A/N: Here's Chapter 12! Only two more chapters and then the epilogue left! I hope you guys enjoyed this one, the next chapter is about the twins' first day of school and Rachel deciding to take another step in her relationship with Santana!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Baby, calm down."

"What if they don't like it? What if the other kids are mean to them?" Rachel held back a chuckle as she watched her girlfriend pace back and forth in her bedroom. Santana and the twins were spending the night at her apartment because their school was closer to Rachel's place than their own.

"San, the twins are the most lovable kids I've ever met. I highly doubt that their classmates won't like them." she said. Santana sighed.

"They aren't in the same class. What if Lilly gets scared? You know she's shy." Rachel stood up and grabbed her girlfriend's hands.

"I know she's shy, but she'll adapt. Besides, didn't you say she knows some of the kids in her class from preschool?" Santana nodded. "She won't be alone. I'm sure she'll have a bunch of friends before school is over tomorrow."

"Yeah." Santana whispered. Rachel smiled softly. "What if I break down tomorrow when I drop them off?"

"I'm going to be to there with you to make sure you're okay. I took the day off as soon as you told me you did." Santana smiled slightly. "You'll be okay, baby, I promise."

"You'll take my mind off of it?" Santana whispered, smiling playfully. Rachel smirked.

"I think I can figure something out. I mean, we will have an entire day to fill." Santana grinned. "Come here." Rachel whispered, kissing her girlfriend.

"Thank you for being here, Rachel."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Rachel admitted honestly, smiling. Santana laughed softly. "I love you so much and I love your kids too. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you three. You mean so much to me."

"We love you too, Rach. The kids would be devastated if you left. So would I." Rachel smiled softly.

"I'm not going anywhere, Santana." she whispered. Santana nodded.

"I know." Rachel hugged the waitress. "We should get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

* * *

"Miguel, we're gonna drop Lilly off first and then go to your classroom, okay? It's right down the hall." Miguel nodded and grabbed Rachel's hand as Santana bent down so she was eye level with her daughter.

"You're leaving me?" Lilly whispered. Santana smiled sadly.

"Only for a few hours, mija. You're going to have a great time, I promise." Lilly frowned.

"What if nobody likes me?"

"What's not to like?" Lilly shrugged. "Come here, mija." Santana said, pulling her into a hug. Lilly clung to her mother. "You know a couple of the kids in there. Remember Olivia, Trevor, and Marcus from preschool? They're in your class."

"They are?" Santana nodded. "Okay... Can I say bye to Rachie before I say by to you?"

"Sure." Rachel smiled as she let go of Miguel's hand and bent down to hug Lilly.

"Hi pretty girl." Lilly smiled. "You know, I was scared on my first day of kindergarten, but I met your mom and Uncle Kurt that day and we instantly became best friends. I know your new best friend is just waiting to meet you." Lilly gasped.

"That's scary." Rachel chuckled.

"How do you think it makes me feel? There's someone in there just waiting to take my spot as your best friend." Lilly giggled.

"Never." she promised, kissing Rachel's cheek. The brunette smiled softly. "I love you, Rachie."

"I love you too, Lilly. So, so much. Have a great day, okay? I'll be here with your mom to pick you up after school." Rachel said, hugging the girl.

"Promise?" Rachel grinned.

"I might even have a surprise for you and your brother." she whispered before standing back up. Lilly grinned before turning to hug her mom.

"Love you, Mommy." Santana pressed a kiss to her daughter's head,

"I love you too, mija. Have a good time at school." Lilly nodded and waved before walking into the classroom. Santana watched for a moment before standing up and grabbing Miguel's hand. "Your turn, mijo."

"Okay, see you later." Santana raised an eyebrow and grabbed his backpack to keep him from walking away.

"I don't get a hug?" Miguel nodded, hugging his mother before hugging Rachel. "You are so not your sister. Have fun, okay?" Miguel frowned for a moment before hugging his mom again.

"You're gonna pick me up, right?" he whispered. Santana let out a laugh and nodded.

"Yes, mijo, I'm going to pick you up. We'll be here when school ends." Rachel nodded.

"You're going to have a great time, I promise." Miguel nodded, stepping back. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Billy is in my class, so maybe I can sit with him." Rachel smiled. "Okay. Bye Rachie. Bye Mommy."

"Bye sweetheart." Santana whispered, standing jump as he walked into his classroom. Rachel looked over at her girlfriend with a smile.

"You want to go get some waffles?" Santana chuckled and nodded. "This can be our first day of school tradition. We drop the kids off and then we go get breakfast together."

"I like it." Santana said as they walked out of the school.

* * *

"What did Matt want?" Rachel asked as she took a bite of her pretzel. She'd gone to buy one when Santana's phone rang and decided not to wait while the Latina answered the call.

"He wants to meet up for dinner tonight in celebration of the twins' first day of school. He wanted to make sure we didn't have anything special planned, but I told him you were doing something for them after we picked them up. Do you want to come with us?"

"I told Kurt I'd let him try some new recipe on me tonight before he cooks it for some guy he's trying to impress." Rachel said, kissing her girlfriend's cheek.

"Oh okay, that's cool. We'll see each other after, right?" Rachel nodded with a grin. "Awesome."

"It's almost time to go pick up the twins, we should head over there." Santana nodded and grabbed Rachel's hand as they began walking toward the school.

* * *

"The twins loved the ice cream." Santana said as she got ready for dinner. Rachel smiled from her spot on the bed.

"They loved school too. Just like I said they would." Santana chuckled. Lilly and Miguel hadn't stopped talking about school since they picked them up and went to get ice cream on the way home. "You look beautiful, by the way."

"Aw, thanks babe." Santana said, walking over and kissing her girlfriend softly. Rachel smiled. "I wish you were coming with us."

"So do I, but I promised Kurt." Santana sighed playfully. "I'll see you later, though."

"Definitely. I'll text you later to figure out where we're sleeping tonight." Santana said before walking out of the room and calling for her kids. After saying goodbye to Rachel, the three left the apartment. Biting her lip, Rachel began to think.

* * *

"I'm going to ask her." Rachel said later that evening. Kurt looked away from the sauce he was making.

"Ask who what?"

"I'm going to ask Santana to move in with me." Rachel explained. Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you guys are ready for that? I mean, it's not just you two that will be affected by this, you have two five year old kids to think about too." Rachel sighed.

"I know that, Kurt. They already have their own rooms here anyway and they're here three to four nights a week. The nights that they don't stay here, I'm usually spending the night there. We basically already live together and this apartment has more room for the four of us." she explained. Kurt shrugged.

"If it makes sense to you, then go for it. All I'm saying is you need to make sure that this is what's best for all four of you." Rachel bit her lip just as her phone buzzed.

**Your place tonight? - San**

**Sure. Come over whenever you're done with dinner. Love you! - Rach**

"Just think about it before you ask her, Rach." Rachel nodded.

"I will."

* * *

"So my lease is up next month." Rachel hummed in response as she brushed her teeth later that night. "Will you go apartment hunting with me? Maybe we could find an apartment closer to the diner, the school, and your place."

"Um... Yeah, sure. Just let me know when." Rachel said after spitting out her toothpaste. Santana smiled and kissed her cheek in appreciation.

"Come on, let's go to bed." she said, grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling her toward the bed.

"One sec, baby." Rachel said, grabbing her phone and sending a text to Kurt.

**I'm going to ask her. - Rach**

She quickly put her phone on the charger before walking over and crawling into her bed. As she curled up next to Santana, she began thinking of ways to ask her girlfriend to move in with her.


	14. Chapter 14

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Santana shook her head as she packed lunches for the twins.

"Absolutely nothing after I get off work. Why?" Rachel smiled as she made breakfast.

"I want to take you out on a date. Just you and me." Santana grinned. "Is that a yes?"

"It's a hell yes." Rachel let out a cheer. "I'll see if their babysitter is free."

"I already got Kurt to agree. His lunch today is on me, by the way." Santana chuckled. "You pick a restaurant and we'll meet there after I get off work."

"Okay. I can't wait." Santana said, leaning over and kissing her girlfriend.

* * *

"Thanks for helping me look at apartments, babe." Santana said as she and Rachel walked into a restaurant. Biting her lip, Rachel smiled up at her girlfriend.

"Of course, sweetheart." Santana leaned over and kissed her cheek before walking over to the hostess.

"Table for two, please." The hostess smiled flirtatiously, leaning closer to the waitress.

"It'll be a few minutes. Maybe we could talk while you wait." Santana raised an eyebrow, about to speak up when she felt an arm wrap around her waist. Looking down, Santana chuckled as she saw the look on Rachel's face.

"I think I'll just talk to my girlfriend while we wait. Thank you though." she said, pulling Rachel to the side. Shaking her head in amusement, Santana smirked as Rachel leaned against her. "Your jealousy is showing, babe."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Santana laughed. "For that, you don't get an appetizer."

"You can't resist ordering an appetizer." Santana pointed out.

"Oh, I never said I wasn't going to order an appetizer. I said you don't get one." Santana chuckled. "Take that, Lopez."

"Whatever, Berry." Rachel giggled as a different hostess motioned for them to follow her to a table.

* * *

"You're seriously not going to share your appetizer with me?" Santana asked. Rachel shook her head.

"Nope!" Rachel said, sticking her tongue out at her girlfriend. Santana pouted.

"Come on, Rach." Rachel giggled, sliding the plate toward her girlfriend. "Yay!"

"You're lucky you're cute." Santana grinned, but raised an eyebrow as Rachel's face became serious.

"You okay?"

"I have a question for you." Santana frowned as Rachel looked down shyly.

"Talk to me, babe, what's up?" Rachel smiled.

"I was wondering if you and the twins would move in with me. I mean, we're together every night anyway and we're usually at my place on weeknights since their school is closer to my apartment than yours. The twins have already decorated my guest rooms and claimed them as their own anyway."

"Rach, I can't afford the rent on your place." Santana pointed out.

"We could split the rent." Rachel whispered. Santana nodded. "I just... I want to live with you and I want to be apart of your family."

"You are part of this family, Rach." Rachel smiled. "I just don't know if I can afford even half of your rent and I don't want to just sponge off of you. That's not fair."

"We can figure something out." Santana smiled softly. "This is completely up to you, okay? No pressure."

"I want to live with you, I do. If it were just me that I had to think about, I'd move in with you in a second. But I have two kids that I need to think about and while I'm almost positive of their answer, I do need to ask them what they think." Rachel nodded.

"Of course. I completely understand." Santana grabbed Rachel's hand.

"We'll ask them when we get back to your place. If they're okay with it, then the answer is yes." Rachel smiled softly, leaning in and kissing her girlfriend. "I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too, San." Rachel whispered.

* * *

"Hey guys. Did you have fun with Kurt?" The twins nodded as they waved to Kurt. Once he was gone, Santana shut the door. "I want to talk to you two about something."

"Okay." Santana smiled.

"Rachel asked me if the three of us would move in here and live with her. You know, on a full-time basis." Lilly frowned.

"Don't we already live with her?" Santana laughed.

"Technically, no. We don't live with her. But we can if you two want to. I told her it was up to you guys." Lilly and Miguel looked at each other for a moment before nodding.

"We like it here and we like it with Rachel!" Rachel smiled widely.

"You guys want to live with me?" They nodded again. "Okay then." she whispered, hugging them.

"I guess you have three new roommates, Rach." Santana said, kissing Lilly's head. Rachel nodded. "Okay, it's time for you two to go to bed. We can celebrate in the morning."

* * *

"We're moving in together." Rachel said as they closed the door to Miguel's room. Santana smiled and nodded.

"There's no turning back now. You're stuck with us."

"I think I'm okay with that." Rachel said, hugging her girlfriend.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait and sorry it's not quite as long as the others. The epilogue definitely makes up for that though, and it will be up either Friday or Saturday! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	15. Chapter 15

**_Four Years Later..._**

Santana couldn't believe it had only been four years since Rachel had come back into her life. It felt like they had never been apart.

That's not to say that their lives had been perfect. Far from it. They fought, particularly in the beginning when Santana and the twins and first moved into Rachel's apartment. The transition was a lot harder than they'd imagined. It had been one thing when Rachel would stay at Santana's apartment or Santana and the twins would stay at Rachel's apartment because there were two apartments that all of their belongings were split between. Once the four of them lived under one roof, Rachel realized just how much stuff they had collectively.

After a few arguments, they finally came to an agreement. Everyone would keep their stuff in their respective rooms and if they needed to use it in one of the common areas, they would clean up when they were done and put it away. Rachel and Santana had also decided that they would save up for a year and try to find a bigger apartment that they could move into as a family. Rachel knew that Santana felt like she was encroaching on Rachel's space and the brunette wanted to stop that feeling, but she knew they couldn't afford to move at the moment.

Despite the arguments and disagreements, there was never a moment when either woman felt the relationship was going to end. They knew it was forever.

And they made sure to see as many Yankees games as possible.

The past four years had also seen some career changes for both women. A few months after Santana moved in, Rachel had been called into her boss's office. She'd immediately began worrying about rent and groceries, only to be told the opposite. She was being promoted and if she kept up the way she was working, it would be the first of many in her career. When Santana had found out, she had been so happy for her girlfriend and so proud of the woman.

Santana had decided to go back to school and had decided to study law. It had taken a year for Santana to quit her job at the diner. Rachel hated seeing her girlfriend so exhausted all the time but she also knew that Santana didn't want to seem like she was freeloading off of her, which was why she hadn't said anything to Santana. It took Santana a month to admit that she wasn't as stressed now that she wasn't working at the diner. She had more energy to spend time with her family, who she'd felt she had been neglecting.

Now, it finally felt like the pieces of her life were falling into place.

The ring on her finger just confirmed that.

_FLASHBACK_

_"Rach?" Santana frowned as she entered a dark apartment. Sighing, she set her backpack on the floor. She'd had a long day and she just wanted to curl up with her girlfriend and her kids and watch a movie, but it looked like nobody was home. Disappointed, she made her way to the bedroom, gasping as she saw rose petals and candles surrounding the room. She finally spotted Rachel smiling from the bed. "Hi."_

_"Hi baby." Rachel whispered, standing up and kissing her girlfriend._

_"Where are the twins?"_

_"They're spending the night with Matt and Mariah." Santana nodded. "How was your day?"_

_"Exhausting and stressful." Rachel smiled sympathetically. "I could use a distraction."_

_"Oh yeah? I think I have something that just might take your mind off of school for a little bit." Santana smirked as she started to move to the bed only to stop when she saw Rachel getting down on one knee._

_"What are you doing?" she whispered. Rachel smiled._

_"Santana, you've been my best friend for as long as I can remember. Even though you weren't in my life for five years, I still considered you to be one of my best friends. For the past three years, you've not only been my best friend, but you've been my lover and my partner. You keep me calm and level. You understand me better than anyone else. I am so happy that you have allowed me to be a part of your family and I want to continue to be a part of it for the rest of my life. I want to be there for everything." Santana smiled through her tears. "I love you so much, I always have."_

_"I love you too." Santana whispered. Rachel bit her lip as she opened the ring box._

_"Santana Maria Lopez... Will you marry me?" Santana nodded._

_"Yes. Of course I'll marry you." Rachel grinned and stood up, kissing her fiancée before slipping the ring on Santana's finger._

_END FLASHBACK_

The only thing she missed about the diner was seeing Mickey every morning. She'd looked forward to that interaction, but even though she didn't work at the diner anymore, she was still close with him and saw him at least once a week, if not more. Apparently, he'd gone with Rachel to look for engagement rings while she was planning Santana's proposal. He and wife also babysat for the twins sometimes when Santana and Rachel were busy or wanted to go on a date.

Santana was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of her phone vibrating. Checking the Caller ID, she grinned when she saw Rachel's picture on the screen. "Hey there future Mrs. Berry-Lopez." They hadn't been able to decide who would take who's name, so they'd decided to hyphenate. When trying to choose who's name went first, they'd ended up flipping a coin. It took Santana a week to admit that Berry-Lopez flowed better than Lopez-Berry.

_"Baby! Guess what?"_ Santana chuckled as she put the cap back on her highlighter.

"What's up?" she asked.

_"I spoke to someone at the venue we chose and I explained that, since you're in school, we would need a date either in the summer or during your winter break. They have dates in both! I personally would love a December wedding, but I know how stressful finals can be and summer break is longer, so if you would rather have a summer wedding so that way you don't have to stress about studying and making sure everything's done for the wedding during winter break, that's okay with me. It's up to you, okay?"_

"Babe, I promised you a dream wedding, right? Your dream wedding?" Santana said, smiling softly.

_"Well, yes."_

"And your dream wedding takes place in December, correct?" Santana asked, smirking.

_"Yeah, but San-"_

"But nothing. Rachel, I personally don't care when I get married so long as I'm marrying you." Santana whispered.

_"Baby... This is your wedding too."_

"I've been married before, Rach." Santana pointed out.

_"Yes, but you told me you didn't get a big wedding."_

"True... Fine. I want a December wedding. We can go on a honeymoon after New Year's so we can spend the holidays with the twins and we can still be back before the spring semester starts." Rachel let out a cheer.

_"Yay! That's one more thing crossed off the list! I told you we could do this."_ Santana grinned._ "Mickey's coming over for dinner tonight, right?"_

"Yeah, I think so. I'll call him in a little bit to confirm." Santana said.

_"Okay. I have to go, I have a meeting. I'll see you at home?"_

"Definitely. I love you." Santana whispered, smiling softly.

_"I love you too, baby. Bye beautiful."_

"Bye love." Santana said, hanging up the phone and turning back to her textbook.

* * *

"What is this?" Matt grinned.

"A surprise for you. We're paying for your wedding dress." Santana raised an eyebrow, looking at Mariah as she nodded.

"Yeah, we want to do this. It's our gift to you." Santana shook her head.

"I can't let you do that." Matt scoffed.

"Just pick a dress, Lopez." Santana bit her lip, trying not to smile. "Let it be about you for a minute." After a second, Santana nodded.

"Come on, this is where I got my dress. Everything here is gorgeous." Mariah said, leading the woman into the store.

* * *

"I finally got Miguel to go to sleep. I'm going to kill Kurt for giving him all of that candy when he was babysitting." Santana chuckled as Rachel wormed her way into her arms. "What are you thinking about, beautiful?"

"Do you want kids?"

"We have kids." Rachel replied, looking up at her fiancée. Sure, they were technically Santana's kids with Matt, but she'd had a hand in raising them over the last four years and Rachel didn't think of them as her stepchildren, but her children. The twins liked to tell people that they had four parents - their mom, their dad, their mama (Rachel) and their ma (Mariah). "I mean, they're yours and Matt's, but... I was presumptuous, right?" Santana chuckled.

"No, babe, of course not. They see you as a parent. You are their parent, one of them anyway." Rachel nodded. "Would you want to have a baby with me? A child that would be just ours?"

"Yeah. I would love to experience being pregnant and even though technically the baby can't biologically be both of ours... I want us to bring a child into the world together." Santana smiled.

"That sounds great, Rachel, it really does. I would love to have a baby with you." Rachel smiled softly. "We can start looking into it after the wedding."

"That sounds perfect." Rachel said.

* * *

"Miguel, sweetie, please stop pulling at the suit." The boy scowled at the woman. "Hey, what's with the face?"

"I don't like this." Rachel chuckled. "It's not comfy."

"You only have to wear it for a few hours, honey. Don't you want to look nice for me and your mom?" Miguel nodded. "That's my boy. You look really handsome, sweetheart."

"Yeah, yeah." Rachel laughed before looking over at Lilly.

"And you look beautiful." she whispered, wiping a tear.

"Oh come on, Rach. Why are you crying?" Rachel scoffed as she looked up to see her fiancée walking into the store.

"You bawled when they started school. Don't even go there." Santana rolled her eyes, kissing the woman. "How was class?"

"It was okay. How are things here?"

"Miguel hates the suit." Santana looked over at her son, chuckling.

"You look adorable, mijo." she said, kissing his head before looking at Lilly. Grinning, she took a picture. "My beautiful girl." she whispered.

"Guys, is she crying?" Rachel teased. Santana shook her head, wiping a tear. "Go get changed. We'll stop and get some dinner." When the twins were gone, Rachel hugged her fiancée. "You okay?"

"They're growing up too fast." Rachel chuckled. "It's not fair."

"I know, love." Santana smiled. "You know, December is going to be here before you know it."

"I can't wait."

* * *

Eventually, December came. The ceremony went off without a hitch and Rachel could finally call Santana her wife. When she'd had a crush on Santana and kept it from the other woman, she'd never believed they would get married. When Santana disappeared after a kiss from Rachel, the brunette never thought she'd see her best friend again, let alone end up marrying her. Now they they were officially married, she knew she was never letting go.

"Oh Mrs. Berry-Lopez." Rachel grinned and allowed herself to be pulled into her wife's arms. "You know, that day I saw you in the diner all I wanted was for you to leave."

"Nice." Santana smiled.

"Now I couldn't be happier that you basically interrogated my family in an attempt to find me because if you hadn't, I wouldn't be here in this room with you. I wouldn't be in school, my kids wouldn't have a relationship with their father, and I wouldn't be in love with the most amazing woman in the world." Rachel blushed as Santana kissed her.

"I always knew you were in love with yourself." she teased. Santana frowned in confusion for a moment before catching on.

"Don't be mean to me." Rachel laughed. "I'm so in love with you. I wish I hadn't disappeared all those years ago."

"I don't." Rachel admitted.

"But we could have been together all this time." Rachel smiled.

"If you hadn't run after I kissed you, you never would have run into Matt and you wouldn't have gotten pregnant with twins. I wouldn't give up them up for anything, not even those five years with you. Besides, we were young. Who knows if we would have made it then? I think we started at the perfect time for us." Santana stared at Rachel for a moment before pulling her into a kiss.

"You're amazing." Rachel leaned into Santana just as Kurt walked up.

"Any chance I could get a picture with the Berry-Lopez family?" The women smiled and nodded.

"We want one with the twins, too. We took some with the photographer but we want one on our phones too." Kurt nodded as Rachel motioned for Lilly and Miguel to join them. Once the pictures were taken, Santana pulled Rachel on the dance floor, grinning as they danced.

* * *

"Wake up, wifey." Rachel groaned as she felt her cheek being poked. "Come on, babe, wake up. The twins and I made you breakfast. They wanted to do something special for you now that you're officially their mama."

"I've always been their mama. I was their mama before the ceremony, right?" Rachel mumbled, giving her wife a tired smile.

"Yeah, but to them... To them, our marriage confirms that you're here to stay and you're not going to leave them. That's always been a fear in the back of their minds." Rachel sat up slowly.

"Was it something I did?"

"No, of course not. But these kids... You're the best thing that's ever happened to them, and they've always believed that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. That's definitely my fault." Santana admitted. Rachel bit her lip. "They just wanted to do something special for you, that's all." Rachel smiled softly. "Besides, we need to cherish these moments before they're teenagers and want nothing to do with us."

"True." Rachel said, laughing. Santana smiled. "But then we'll have a little one to do these things with while those two are going through that phase."

"I can't wait." Santana whispered, kissing her wife. Rachel hugged the woman for a moment before pulling away. "Come on, sleepy head. Let's go eat breakfast before Miguel eats everything himself again." Rachel giggled as she got out of the bed and followed her wife to the kitchen to see the twins eating.

"Morning Mama." Miguel said as he bit into his waffle. Rachel smiled and kissed their heads before sitting down. She took a moment to watch her family before looking down and smiling at her left hand. When she looked back up, she saw Santana grinning at her.

She never imagined this is how her life would go, but she wouldn't trade it for anything else.

* * *

**A/N: That's the end of Order Up! I hope you guys have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it! I'm currently working on a new story tentatively called Mine, which will consist of six chapters. Two of those chapters will be in Rachel's POV, two will be in Santana's POV, one will be in Sam's POV, and one will be in Dani's POV. In my opinion, it's got a little more angst than I usually write, but I think you guys will like it. I want to try and write the entire story before I post it since it's only six chapters, but the first one should be up soon. There will be more details in the authors note at the end of that chapter.**


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